Delusions and Madness
by Furballmews
Summary: Jefferson is lonely and up to old habits, but what does his telescope find him?
1. Chapter 1

Even with the curse semi-lifted Jefferson was lonely, his hermit like nature and violent mood swings meant he had very little contact with other people in town. Even Grace, his daughter, he felt was safer with the family that had been raising her so well until now. He never knew when his mind might slip on him again, when he might react unexpectedly and perhaps hurt her. He did get to see her, outside, in public where he was less likely to go into an episode. But his visits were limited, the twice a week event that was the soul purpose for which he existed.

The majority of his time he spent at home in his mansion, alone and talking to himself, a past time he was now quite good at. He'd had almost a lifetime of practice under his hat. Other time was spent trying to resist the temptation to watch the town through his telescope, the telescope that was once his only window to the outside world.

Tonight is no different, he feels the curious need to see what others lives are like, the need to see whats normal. He paces in the dim light of the early evening before finally giving in, swinging the telescope around to the woods edge. With his last bit of willpower melting away he looks through the lens, enjoying the chill of the metal eye piece against his skin. The thrill of looking but remaining unseen buzzing in his head as he stops on a unusual scene.

#~~~

Ellisidy had one hell of a flash of lucid brilliance this morning when the usual men in white coats came in to check up on her sanity, a list they'd finally gotten far enough through to have reached her door. They didn't have a choice, the director had decided to reevaluate every patient in the sanatarium. After all in the past few weeks the definition had changed quite a bit and after all she'd only been in here a few short months. Though to her it had seemed an eternity lost in a delusional fog, a torturous existence she would never have chosen for herself, or anyone.

Not but a few short months ago she'd been just some strange woman in a volkswagon bus who hung around at the edge of the woods, avoiding the town filled with people and spent most of her time camped out under the stars. That was until the night that the,then, Mayors adopted son ran off and she rounded up all the 'loonies' the next morning. An overprotective response from a woman without feelings that stopped the lives of four residents.

None of that mattered anymore though, she was finally out of that place. They'd proclaimed her competent, slapping her keys in her hands as they rushed her out of the door. When she had stopped to question why, the only answer she got was something about how magic was back. They'd apologized, thrown in some gossip, tried to make her feel normal, but to no avail. Magic. It was the only thing she could latch onto in her half alert, semi drugged state. Though two names caught in her mind as the white coated men continued to gossip, the Queen and Rumplestiltskin.

Even now as she sits under a thick tree, her side back doors open to the woods as the sun sets, she could hardly believe it. Magic in this place. She kicks off her shoes and springs out of the rear side door, reveling in the smell of the forest around her as she spins around, a wide smile on her face. The leaves fall like rain around her as she giggles and falls back into the small pile formed there. The static of a radio clicking on silences her giggles, the soft timeless melody of The Moody Blues, Nights in White Satin.

Ghost wisps of smoke dance before her eyes along with the hypnotic tune, swaying about her like dancers to the melody. As she stands to join them, the song builds and she softly sings along, "Beauty I'd always missed...With these eyes before,

Just what the truth is...I can't say anymore...cause I love you...yes I love you...O-O-Oh how I love you..."

Her voice cutting off just as the music suddenly stops. Her eyes drawn to the sky above as her body stills. The moon peaks out over the tree tops, reflecting in her strange polychromatic eyes, eyes that earlier that morning had been nothing but a dull blackish gray hue clouded over with anti-psychotics and tranquilizers.

#~~~~

Jefferson pulled away from the telescope amused at what he'd seen, but still cursing himself for giving in to temptation. Had that young woman in the woods truly just used magic as if it were no big deal? His eyes had to be playing tricks on him, there was no way such a person would be out here in his woods. She couldn't have been more than a hypnotic delusion created by his impoverished mind. One he wouldn't mind having again later sometime.

His stomach let free a growl that made him laugh, he was starving. Granny's wouldn't be too bad this evening and he really didn't feel up to cooking. His hands shook and he began to wonder if he'd eaten today. With a quick glance in the mirror, adjusting his scarf, he heads out locking the door.

#~~~~

"What? You let her out?" Regina snaps into her phone causing everyone in Granny's to glance up from their meals. "Do you realize who's daughter that girl is?"

Charming shoots her a scowl from the table he and Henry occupy. This wasn't the place for her to be acting up, not right after the town had decided to put up with her. Regina hurriedly hangs up the phone and sits down across from the two, so very glad to able to see Henry.

"Whats wrong?" Henry asks with a crooked smile.

Regina sighs, nothing would be lost by letting them know. "The town decided to re-evaluate some of the patients at the sanatarium...and because of that someone dangerous may have been set loose."

"Dangerous how?" Charming suddenly stiffens, determined to not see the town suffer more. "Who?"

"It's not who she is, but more that your daughter killed her mother that is the problem here." Regina says shaking her head. "Or that I imprisoned them both, though I didn't know who the girl was at the time. She'd seemed like no one important at the time."

A shudder from the table behind them alerts Henry to Jeffersons presence, neither Charming or Regina seem to notice as he makes no attempt to hide his eavesdropping. Henry just smiles at the strange Hatter and continues to listen.

"Regina." Charming tries to sound stern. "Who is she?"

Regina's eyes lower as she sighs. "Maleficent's one and only daughter...Her name is Ellisidy, in our world she was known as a witch to many people, though a few thought better of her. All I know is she was a wanderer, before and here. She was picked up and judged mentally unsound a few months ago, she's been in the sanatarium ever since...James, if this girl is anything like her mother we are all in danger..."

Charming shudders at the thought, remembering the dragon woman he'd had to deal with long ago in order to find Snow. "As acting Sheriff, I guess I should go check it out, but where would she have gone after release?"

Jefferson clears his throat,setting down his fork as he finishes his meal,causing the two adults to jump and Henry to laugh. With a grin on his face he tilts his head to the side. "I know..."

Charming eyes Jefferson suspiciously, not fully trusting the man who had at one point kidnapped his wife and daughter only to force his daughter into hat making. Noting the intense hatred in Regina's eyes for the man, Charming decides it best to leave Henry here and join him, even if it was a dead end lead, he couldn't have Regina freaking out. "Fine, Henry stay with Regina for a few hours, I'll be back after I've checked it out."

#~~~~~~~

The two men parked in the drive of Jefferson's mansion, getting out in silence. The darkness surrounds them as the headlights from Charming's truck finally turn themselves off and an awkwardness passes between them.

"This way," Jefferson begins to walk around the side of the massive home. "I saw a girl in the woods behind my home earlier this evening."

Charming follows behind the man at a safe distance, doubting until he hears the hum of music in the distance. As they round the mansion he can see light from a fire deep in the woods, flickering and flashing against what seemed to be a black and green 1970 Volkswagon bus parked under a large fir tree. Though no one is in site the two head into the woods and towards the crackling oranges and reds, towards the fuzzy old radio sounds that seem to be coming from the woods.

"Sympathy for the Devil..." Jefferson comments as they get closer, still not seeing anyone, the van doors now closed.

A chill breeze stirs up cinders from around the small fire pit. The bus creaks as Charming begins to circle the site at a slow pace, Jefferson staring into the fire listening to the song.

"Hello?" Charming shouts after only another verse, kicking up leaves in his path. "Anyone out here?"

The radio clicks off and the noise of the crackling fire replace it, the light shifting from yellows, oranges and reds to a pale green with darker tinges. The two men look at each other, both silently agreeing that it probably was a witch they were dealing with and that they may have doomed themselves by coming unarmed.

"Come on out, we just want to talk..." Charming's eyes dart around at the shadows cast by the fire. "We need to ask you a few things..."

"No one just ever wants to talk..." A soft voice speaks from the dark woods. "What do you want, sheriff?"

" Oh, so you do know who I am?"

Jeffersons eyes come to rest on the bus as the prince continued to chat with a voice he couldn't see.

"I know..." The voice answers, a feminine sound only slightly above a whisper. "Just because I was locked away you take me for stupid, I at least got the paper you know."

"Okay..." Charming shakes his head with a look of confusion. "Come out, so we can talk face to face then."

The fire roars as if in defiant answer, the radio clicking on to static. Charming turns to the fire while Jefferson steps towards the dated bus.

"What are you afraid of?" Charming shouts, his voice echoing through the woods.


	2. Chapter 2

"What are you afraid of?"

"Tiny fucking padded rooms filled with silence!Tiny cells, it's all the same!" Ellisidy growls as she shifts her weight against the cold metal roof of her mini bus. The answer had come before she'd even thought it through. She knows the fire has begun to flare due to her anger and tries to choke it back.

Minutes pass in silence as the fire slowly calms, Charming spinning around trying to locate the source of the magic, Jefferson pacing the length of the green vehicle. The static noise of the radio ceasing suddenly.

"You were declared competent this morning." Charming states as if it mattered. "I just want to talk."

Jefferson silently pulls himself up the Volkswagon's rear ladder suddenly face to face with a young brunette woman, her chaotic polychromatic eyes looking at him with curiosity. Rainbows on oil slicks, thats what her eyes reminded him of as he puts a single finger to his mouth, allowing her to continue her banter.

"You...You have magic, right?" Charming's voice broke slightly as he asked.

Ellisidy sat up to face the man now staring at her with a wide grin,green eyes flashing with something dark as he looks her over from head to toe. Her voice quiet and calm, asking one man as much as the other."What do you want?"

"Help..." Charming finally said as he turned to face the green relic of the hippy era, noticing Jefferson hovering on the back ladder. He cocks an eyebrow before adding, "I just really need help...anything...to get them back..."

"Fine...if thats how it is.." She slides closer to Jefferson kicking her legs over the side of the bus and shooting a half smile at Charming, her eyes shadowed under a mop of shoulder length straight brown hair. Her petite frame slides down the side of the vehicle, landing softly on her feet she takes a few steps towards the fire. "Why should I want to help you then?"

Charming blinks as his face goes from hopeful to baffled, a stream of thoughts he couldn't put into words ran through his mind. Anger flashes suddenly inside him, " Then what will you do?" he growls under his breath, desperation and worry tinged his voice. "Will you become another villain this town doesn't need?"

Ellisidy stops, looking up at the sky, letting her hair fall back. Her eyes clouding over as she focuses on the bright full moon, the fire dying down to mere cinders. "I hadn't thought about it really, I never really thought they'd let me out, I mean before I did...but once they found out who I was, never...just like before..."She falls silent for a moment. "Is it true that if you leave town, you forget?"

"It is." Jefferson says as he steps down from the ladder again, his eyes fixed on the woman before them, dressed in a long flowing green sundress with no shoes. Had they not been, he would have missed the wet drop slide down her cheek, shimmering as the fire light catches it just right.

Charming paces before the dying green fire, she'd given an honest sounding answer, what more could he really ask. "You know I can't really have you staying out here in the woods like this...Not with Regina on the war path...she's bound to start trouble tomorrow."

"I understand that..." She spins with a shrug, still looking at the moon. "But Regina had my home sold...all of my things...except the van...The home she'd given me in the first place, now that I think about it...so who am I to complain."

"I have some space..." Jefferson chimes in, a sheepish look on his face as uncontrolled thoughts race through his head.

Charming shoots him a dirty look,but doesn't say anything as he can't think of a better option. The thought of two crazies under one roof made him cringe just a little as he turns and begins to walk away. "Figure it out...I'll be back tomorrow to make sure the vans been moved...if the council decides to make trouble for you..I can't stop them...and after Regina is done tomorrow..."

She stifles a laugh, looking back to Jefferson as the moon falls behind some clouds and the fire dies out. The radio clicks on in the dark, humming to life with soft piano music.

#~~~~~~

"What do you mean Maleficent had a child?" Mr. Gold asks Regina in front of the gathered group from his seat in the front row. "And they let her loose in our town? How could you have not told someone?"

"This is me telling you." Regina states taking her seat again.

The rest of the room remains silent, afraid of comparing the frightening man before them to the monster they were listening to him and Regina argue about, aloud at least. The whole meeting had come to a grinding halt when she'd, moments before, burst in and announced the addition of another resident, claiming of course to have the best interests of the town at heart.

Jefferson slides in the back door trying to remain at the back to listen, after all he'd let the girl in his home, he did have the right to listen. Though as far as he could tell she'd spent the night on the roof, having climbed out from a unlocked bedroom window only moments after he'd left her alone. Even when he'd checked this morning the bed was still made and untouched, a small knapsack in the corner and a open window the only signs he even had a guest. He'd seen the flyers at Granny's Diner the night before, but only decided to attend the town meeting after he and Sheriff Charming had met the girl.

"I've been given her file and other than who gave birth to her I don't see the issue..." Dr. Archie Hopper chimes in, a serious look on his face as he flips through a off yellow file. "She's not violent as far as anyone could tell while she was in treatment...but why is there no name or photo in there? Why is so much blacked out?"

"Do we really need another witch?" Leroy shouts, gaining the agreement of the other dwarves. "We have enough problems in our lives as it is...even if she isn't violent...How can we trust that?"

The voices die off slowly as Charming steps forward to the podium, a slight frown on his face. "Come on people...We can't react this way every time something happens. We'll end up in chaos."

"Did anyone know her before?" Dr. Whale asks from the middle aisle. "From back home or here? Can anyone remember anything about her?"

The room falls silent again, not a one could remember Maleficent having a child or ever running across anyone claiming that heritage.

"A name, Regina." Gold demands. "What is the girls name?"

"Ellisidy." Charming answers first, frustration clear on his face. "Her name is Ellisidy."

The crowd began to mumble, each person trying to search their memories for the name. Not just the easier to comb through memories of this land but through the painful and sometimes buried memories of their home land. Regina sits, clearly worried, holding Henry's hand tightly and trying to not add more fuel to the fire, yet.

A young woman stands, pushing her way around Mr. Gold. Few recognize the quiet librarian as anything more than Mr. Gold's rumored lover, though they are all compelled to wonder what kind of girl she might be. " Ellisidy? The minstrel?"

Mr. Gold's eyes narrow and fall on the girl. Disbelief on his face.

"You mean the bard?" Archie stands suddenly as well. "The wandering singer who traveled with the caravans in winter?"

Charming can only blink in response, he really knows nothing of this person in question outside of what he'd seen last night and even after Regina explained he couldn't tell them the answers they wanted. "I'm not sure..."

"Small framed brunette girl?" Ruby asks from the front of the town hall chamber. "Bit strange, but a wonderful voice."

Both Belle and Archie nod agreement, a person they'd all know in some form or fashion so very long ago. Though not a one could believe the person in their memories could be the child of that evil witch. To them she was something entirely different.

#~~~~~~~~~~~

The meeting had ended rather abruptly with no one deciding if the girl was actually a threat or not. Jefferson had decided he didn't care what the town thought. Even after listening to them go on for an hour without resolution he felt himself better off making his own decisions. Mad or not, the town meeting had just impressed upon him how hard it was to be 'normal'.

As he opens his front door he lets loose a sigh, nothing had changed while he'd been gone. Not a light had been turned on and the tea sat untouched. The girl hadn't come down stairs at all. Perhaps even was still of the roof, though he couldn't fathom why.

Walking up the stairs he can hear the hum of water, the guest bathroom shower is running. She had come down from the roof after all.

The door to the guest room was wide open and as he got closer he could hear her singing softly through the half open bathroom door. The window was closed now and the bed had a small curled up impression at its center. He steps over her discarded sun dress as the scent of fruity sweet body wash invades his nostrils.

Leaning against the door frame he listens to her for a while, not noticing the water turn off. Her voice is enchanting, she sings a lullaby like tune he recognizes from back home, one he'd often sung to his daughter. Listening with his eyes closed, he can almost picture it, the place she describes almost seeming real.

A sudden gasp causes him to open his eyes, his control melting away in a flash.


End file.
